The Underdogs

“That would be like the Steelers going to the Ravens and asking for help.”

Tim replies with this simile when Will reveals he considered asking Castle Rock’s coach for financial help. The comparison refers to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, who have been consistent rivals since the inception of the Baltimore team in 1996. The Ravens were created that year when Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell relocated the franchise to Baltimore as an expansion team. The epic rivalry between the Steelers and the Browns goes back to their earliest matchups in the 1950s. Tim’s meaning here is two-fold: Will’s idea would involve too much pride-swallowing, and asking a rival for help would make it very difficult to enjoy beating them.

“But what’s really funny is that you seem to be telling me that since no twelve-year-old boy you know could kick one that far, it would be impossible for a girl to do it.”

Hannah’s line digs into the stereotypical assumption that boys generally perform better—faster, higher, longer, stronger, etc.—than girls. Will initially admits this is his thinking, but then he sees how talented Hannah is. In a moment of irony, once he acknowledges her skills and invites her to stay to play with the team, she politely refuses. This incident introduces the novel’s motif of gender stereotypes in sports.

“Will switched into that extra gear, just for the fun of it. He ran straight through the end zone, not doing anything fancy with the ball, no dopey dance steps. No showboating. It wasn’t his style.

Act like you’ve been there before.”

As Will sails into the end zone for the touchdown that wins the game between his team members, description and imagery help characterize him. Will is self-assured when it comes to his talent but not cocky or conceited; he is not there to brag, just to enjoy the win. The extra gear metaphor reminds readers of his impressive speed, and the italicized quote—present in Will’s mind as he makes the touchdown—demonstrates the importance of his father’s advice to him.

“I look forward to watching you carry the ball.”

Mr. DeMartini closes his letter to Will with this statement, capping off his positive response with this optimistic sentiment. The mood of the closing is sincere and benevolent. The expression he uses, “carry the ball,” is football lingo for advancing the ball and team into the opponent’s territory toward a touchdown. It is also used here in a metonymical way; Mr. DeMartini would like to meet and speak with Will as well, not just see him in a game.

“No coach, no quarterback. Just like that. Not even Troy Palomalu could sack that many people with one hit.”

Short pithy sentences and a no-nonsense tone characterize Will’s summation of the problem that follows receiving funding from New Balance. The conflict shifts between the first section of the novel to the second—now, Will and his friends have the money to support a season of football but not enough players to field a team. The cadence of the line is reminiscent of curt sports commentary; the metaphor about sacking refers to wiping out those who stand against the team (quarterback Bobby Carrington and his father, the coach). The cultural allusion to Troy Palomalu refers to a popular safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose professional record includes 783 tackles.

“Don’t be a bonehead and go for that fake, you jack wagon. How about hitting somebody, or do you still think you’re playing flag football?”

Dick Keenan, Toby Keenan’s father, is infamous for the insults he shouts from the stands. That he relays comments like these to his own son characterizes him as crass, unloving, and arrogant. With his reference to flag football, Mr. Keenan is insulting his son’s tackling abilities; there is limited contact in flag football, a game in which pulling a flag from a ball carrier’s belt represents the tackle. “Jack wagon” is an insult that refers to a lazy, ineffective person.

“As long as there’s still time […] you can’t give up.”

Will attributes this quote to professional ball player DeSean Jackson, who played for the Ravens and the Eagles. Will sometimes uses the apt sayings of others to explain his feelings in the moment; here, he sees the saying’s validity in terms of his quest to find a coach. Though it appears that finding a coach is unlikely, Will is not at all ready to give up; in fact, he plans to ask his father to take the role.

“Went to the league’s website. It’s not rocket science. The rules say you have to be twelve, you have to have medical clearance to play, blah blah blah. Nothing that, uh, discriminates that I saw.”

Though Hannah demonstrates skill and passion for the game, as well as mental and physical toughness, it does not occur to Will to consider her for the team. This indicates how ingrained traditional gender norms are in Will; he consistently reacts with and voices sincere respect for Hannah’s talent but steadfastly refuses to consider her as a potential teammate. Hannah follows up her request to join the team with this line, intentionally broaching the idea of discrimination for the first time. This suggests that she is ready for a fight against the team if they reject her.

“Hannah Grayson had her hair in a ponytail today, was wearing shorts and a blue Michigan T-shirt with a yellow M on the front. And cleats. They were soccer cleats, but she clearly wasn’t messing around.”

The novel, limited to Will’s third-person viewpoint, only rarely depicts personal appearance. When it does, attention is drawn to the characters described. Here, Hannah’s soccer cleats and Michigan T-shirt symbolize her seriousness about joining the team. Will’s interest in her physical appearance foreshadows the attraction he later develops toward her. “Michigan” refers to the University of Michigan and its football program, which has dominated many college contests over its history and often ranks among the highest in wins, championships, draft picks, and other categories.

“And this girl, whether you want her with us or not, has that same kind of chip. She doesn’t just want to show other teams. She knows she’s gonna have to show her own team. She wants to help show everybody that a team from a nowhere town like this—and you know that’s what other people think about Forbes now—can take on anybody.”

Will’s father’s speech is significant, not only for the end result (the boys agree to let Hannah play) but also because his “coach-speak” tone and word choice reveal the extent of his competence. Though this is not a locker room or halftime moment, the stakes for the future of the team are just as high. Despite being a new coach with plenty of football-related emotional baggage, Joe proves his ability to guide his players not only on strategy but in their treatment of their peers. This quote also references the “chip on one’s shoulder” metaphor, reminding the boys that Hannah feels she must prove something, a feeling they know well. The mention of how others think of Forbes’s struggle develops the theme of The Impact of Economic Hardship on Youth.

“Might have played like a dog team for most of this game. […] We’re still a team.”

Tim’s line succinctly summarizes the emotions felt by Will and his teammates after their first game and loss to Palmer. The “dog team” reference means that they played as though they were newly formed and not yet used to communicating with one another—without finesse, in other words. Even so, they demonstrated the drive, heart, gumption, and scrappy determination to continue and improve.

“They just needed a couple of stops. Needed to have the ball in their hands at the end. Make it one of those games, the best kind of football game, last team with ball wins.”

Will’s thinking reveals not only his intuitive ability to analyze his team’s needs but also his sincere enjoyment of football as a contest. “The best kind of football game” refers to games in which the teams are evenly matched in skill, making it anybody’s guess who might win. His thoughts come across here in a third-person interior monologue and carry a wise tone for his young years. The author’s use of short sentences—many of them fragmented phrases with an understood subject—connotes the cadence and the steady pace of the countdown clock.

“Who was the one who could fly with the game on the line? […] Special K was.”

Kendrick has football talent, but he is also skilled in trash talk. His insults are blatant and cutting, especially toward Will, the player whom his coaches note as the biggest threat to Castle Rock’s victory. With each bit of “chirping,” he establishes himself as Will’s dramatic foil and as the human antagonist in the underdog narrative. He uses a cultural allusion here to a name-brand cereal, Special K.

“You know what the challenge is gonna be? […] Figuring out where he can help us the most on offense.”

This line demonstrates Joe’s trust in Will, as he delivers it to Will in an aside during practice. Joe refers here to Toby Keenan shortly after he rejoins the team. The quote is a strong example of foreshadowing, as the topic of Toby’s helpfulness as an offensive player will resurface when Will’s father eventually sees how well he throws.

“But how could you not have rabbit ears when it was your own dad?”

Rabbits have excellent hearing that keeps them safe from predators, even those at a distance. Will’s father advises the players to turn off their “rabbit ears” so that extraneous comments from the stands do not impede their ability to concentrate on the game. Will uses the expression here to express sympathy for Toby, whose father shouts insulting comments that cannot be tuned out. The line also establishes Toby’s father and Will’s father as foils concerning their ability to communicate with their sons.

“This has turned into the kind of game my old coach used to call a triple-chinstrap game and I’m afraid the next time she gets clobbered like that, she’s not gonna get up.”

The “triple-chinstrap” expression offers imagery of a helmet being knocked about so roughly it needs extra fasteners to keep it on. Will’s father means that the game against Merrell has become dangerous because of the opposing team’s animosity. His motivation for taking Hannah out of play is justified, considering the Bulldogs need her to continue in the season; an injury from an overly rough tackle could limit their chances of overall success.

“It still wasn’t Heinz Field. […] Will knew there were still potholes waiting to trip him up when he least expected it. But with the new sod and the fresh chalk and even the new goalposts that New Balance has surprised that with, it looked like a real field again.”

Will’s pride in Shea Stadium, his hometown field, is evident as he enumerates its recent improvements. When the book begins, the name is ironic as New York’s famous Shea Stadium was a grand sports venue. Now, just in time for a home game against Becker Falls, the stadium’s refresh boosts Will’s spirits. The allusion at the beginning of the quote refers to the former name of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ home stadium, where the Pitt Panthers, the University of Pittsburgh football team, also played.

“You still think you know everything about defense, right? […] Then here’s my question, why don’t you come over here and help me try to win this game?”

The moments of suspense as Toby Keenan’s father leaves the stands culminate here with a question no boy on the team could have predicted—not even Toby or Will. Toby’s father has been known for his terrible commentary and derogatory comments toward his son and the other Bulldogs, but with this twist, he has the chance to “switch sides” and join the protagonists. Now the defensive coach for the team, Mr. Keenan becomes a dynamic character with his change in motivation and objective.

“This side of the river was exactly where he belonged at that moment, exactly where he wanted to be.”

Early in the novel, Will sits near the riverbank across from Castle Rock and wonders how his life would be better if he lived there. After multiple wins and a new hope that the Bulldogs can beat Castle Rock, Will feels a greater sense of belonging and fulfillment in Forbes. The river serves as a metaphor for the division between economic opportunities. This quote also demonstrates Will’s growing wisdom and maturity and serves as evidence of his coming-of-age.

“We used to think Coach Carson gave better pre-game speeches to the crowd on Friday nights than he did us on Saturday afternoon. Now he’s retiring after this season, Coach is, he announced that the other day. One more part of my life that will be gone.”

Joe’s words to Will about Forbes’s traditional Friday night pep rallies mark a turning point in his tone. Contextually, these lines follow his sad and bitter discussion about hating the factory as it represented a dead end for him. But recalling the town’s support makes Joe smile and causes him to see the potential for memory-making in Will’s upcoming games. Significantly, these lines foreshadow not only the pep rally the town attends for the Bulldogs but also the possibility of a coaching job for Joe at Forbes High School.

“It wouldn’t be official until his doctor looked at the X-ray an hour later. But he’d broken a bone in his right ankle.

Just like that, they were ten.”

These lines represent a chapter cliffhanger and plot complication. As if the Bulldogs have not been challenged with enough adversity, quarterback Chris Aiello sustains an injury in the last game of the regular season. By removing Chris from the championship game, Lupica increases the challenge ahead for the remaining Bulldogs, which intensifies the suspense.

“Joe Tyler said, ‘How come you never told me you could throw a football like that?’

Toby shrugged.

‘You never asked me,’ he said.”

Toby’s brief response to Joe’s question typifies his calm, unassuming character. This moment brings full circle the earlier conversation between Will and his father that foreshadowed Toby’s usefulness on offense. Will’s father never considered that Toby might have a throwing arm because his skills as a defender are more immediately obvious. It is a lucky accident that Toby’s thrown practice ball hits Will. Otherwise, Toby’s talents might have gone undiscovered.

“On the way out of the huddle Will grabbed Johnny Callhan and told him how the game was supposed to end. For both teams.”

Will’s “football vision” is never stronger than in the crucial moment when he reads Ben Clark’s play in the last moments of the championship game. As he tells Hannah, he knows that “Kendrick had to be the hero” (280). Here, Lupica revisits the method of creating suspense through cryptic language and by withholding details. The line primes the reader’s attention, but Will’s plan is not evident until it plays out, allowing the reader to “watch” the action in real time.